Leading With Data

Democratizing analytics is not about disseminating dashboards throughout an organization or spending a ton of money on putting in a new data infrastructure. Availability of data is not the key to democratizing analytics. In this episode, Cassidy speaks with Joel Shapiro, Professor of Data Analytics / Chief Analytics Officer at Varicent, about how having an understanding of how data analytics solves business problems is the key to democratizing analytics. Joel is an expert at helping organizations generate business value with data analytics. He is currently the Chief Analytics Officer at Varicent, a leading Sales Performance Management solution provider. He also teaches advanced analytics to MBA students at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Joel is a regular contributor to Forbes and CNBC and his work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review and cited by top business publications, such as Business Insider. We discuss: Fitting data analytics into a business school curriculum How to truly democratize analytics Why organizations don't prioritize data education Training people to think about data as information The ad hoc nature of analytics How to know when your data team is the right size Why everyone will need to have data skills in the future Visit Joel at joelshapiroanalytics.com. If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can't see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

Data literacy is not only important for businesses who want to be successful and individuals looking to level up their careers. At a macro level, it's integral to addressing all the problems we face as a society. In this episode, Cassidy speaks with Ben Jones, Founder & CEO at Data Literacy, about the steps an organization can take to begin closing the data literacy gap. Ben is an experienced and passionate data instructor. He has taught hundreds of thousands of students in both corporate and academic environments and currently teaches data visualization theory at the University of Washington. An accomplished author, Ben has written five books including Avoiding Data Pitfalls and Data Literacy Fundamentals. In 2018, Ben became aware of a huge gap in data literacy, data education, and data assessments and decided to launch a company to address what he saw as a critical problem in our society. The company — Data Literacy — helps businesses, government agencies, and individuals break through the barriers holding them back from improving their data knowledge and skills. Topics covered: -Filling the data literacy, education, and assessments gap -The evolution of data literacy -How to start improving data literacy within your organization -How leadership has contributed to the gap -The importance of the human element in data -The costs of falling into data pitfalls Reach out to Ben on LinkedIn, by email (bjones@dataliteracy.com), or on Twitter (@dataremixed). If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can't see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

A lot of data practitioners struggle with telling an effective data story. They excel at getting the data. They have expert-level knowledge of data visualizations. What they lack is a clear understanding of how to choose the right story to tell. In today's episode, Cassidy speaks with Maria Massei-Rosato, former Vice President and Data Evangelist at Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Among other topics, they chat about her journey in data analytics and her advice for constructing the right data narrative. Maria has over 25 years of experience in software development and data analytics. During her time at the Central Bank, she created a start-up practice that elevated their ability to connect and synthesize disparate and complex informational sources and create insightful analyses. Aside from her strengths in data analysis, she's also a talented writer. Her screenplay, Lost in Control, placed in 14 film festivals and won best screenplay at the Milan International Film Festival and the Montana Covellite Film Festival. The film is based on her memoir, which is a mother-daughter story shaped by lessons she learned while cycling across the country over seven and a half weeks. It's this unique combination of skills that made her the perfect person to launch a data storytelling course at Parsons School of Design. Additionally, she leads customized workshops based on this course for organizations interested in learning more about data storytelling techniques. Topics covered: -Pursuing a career that combines both analytical and creative aspects -The process of creating and teaching a data storytelling course -Tips for constructing a better data narrative -Why design thinking and adaptive leadership should be more widely adopted Learn more about Maria on her website, on IMDb, and on Instagram. If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can't see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

If you talk to any executive, they'll tell you that leveraging data is a competitive advantage. But according to today's guest, a lot of companies still don't know exactly what that means and how best to operationalize data to gain that advantage. Cassidy speaks with Benn Stancil, Chief Analytics Officer and Founder at Mode, about how the modern data stack has evolved and why the current data playbook is incomplete. Previous to Mode, Benn was an analyst at Microsoft and Yammer, where he helped lead product analytics. He also worked as an economic analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. At Mode, Benn leads internal analytics efforts and provides strategic oversight and guidance to product directions. An active content contributor to the data science community, you can find Benn's articles at benn.substack.com. They discuss: -How the switch to remote work affected Mode and the SaaS industry -Mode's origin story -The gray areas of self service and the role analysts should play -Why Benn writes articles and what he gets out of it -The missing piece in the modern data stack -Why the most important quality for a good data team is curiosity -How to usher your company out of the old world into the new world of data Follow Benn on Twitter, or email him at benn@modeanalytics.com. If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can't see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

In this episode, Cassidy speaks with Lillian Pierson, a world-class data leader, entrepreneur, and educator, and the CEO of Data Mania. They discuss different approaches data professionals can take to become data entrepreneurs and how data science has evolved over the years. Lillian has trained over 1 million data professionals through her YouTube videos, online courses, and books. She's particularly passionate about helping data professionals and new data entrepreneurs start their own business. As an independent consultant, she has supported over 10% of Fortune 100 companies and she's been featured in Forbes, Fortune, National Geographic, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, and The Guardian, among dozens of other publications. They discuss: - Lillian's journey building an online business around data education - Avenues for becoming a data entrepreneur - Defining your audience in the data & analytics space - Data science career trajectories - Lillian's 2 methods to start a side hustle - Approaching data as a product versus a supply chain - The case for creating data products Check out Lillian's YouTube page and take the Data Superhero Quiz. If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can't see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

Culture transformation — it's an intimidating project. How do you do it in a way that holistically shifts mindsets and behaviors and tangibly delivers impact to the business? For the answer to that question, Cassidy speaks with two EVPs from Edelman: Elena Grotto, the Business Transformation Group Head in Chicago, and Felicia Joy, the US Head of Behavioral Science. Elena has over ten years of experience designing and facilitating behavior change, adult learning experiences, communications campaigns, and employee value proposition strategy. In particular, she specializes in shifting employee mindsets and behaviors and stabilizing the workforce amid enterprise-wide transformation. Felicia is a behavioral scientist and strategic corporate affairs leader with experience in marketing, public relations, and corporate communications. She has put her skills to use in a range of sectors including corporate, government, non-profit, and academia and across industries like healthcare, hospitality, energy, aviation, and financial services. Elena and Felicia currently work for Edelman, a global communications firm that partners with businesses and organizations to evolve, promote, and protect their brands and reputations. The two pull out actionable insights from employee data sets and design operational recommendations and communications to elevate the employee experience, often during times of great change within a business. We discuss: -How early experiences in the worlds of contemporary art and public relations led them to their current positions -The types of projects they collaborate on for clients -How employers have become a source of trust -How communications can shift mindsets and behaviors -Tying culture to a business strategy with data -Measuring the effects of culture change -Who should be in charge of culture change -Research on the impact of COVID on work and culture Check out Edelman's 2021 Trust Barometer. If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Thinking it's trendy isn't a strong enough reason to develop a data strategy, culture or structure for your business. You need to integrate the purpose of your business with the purpose of the data you collect and use. We're lucky to be joined by Bruno Aziza, Head of Google Cloud Data & Analytics at Google, who shares how to develop a culture that embraces the use of data in everyday decision-making. What we talked about: - Bruno's dedication and approach to learning and teaching - The evolution of business intelligence - Distilling customers' data challenges - Why you shouldn't let vendors label what you do & instead define it yourself - Red flags that indicate an unsustainable data culture - The difference between data warehouses & data lakes - Actionable advice to build a data-driven culture Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: Bruno's LinkedIn profile Drive Business Performance (a book by Bruno) Analytically Yours (Bruno's podcast) Bruno's YouTube channel (where you can access The Car Cast) If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can't see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

Public health is the great equalizer — it affects everyone. Data plays an integral role in solving the complex problems of public health by providing evidence-based solutions that can benefit the entire population. In this episode, Cassidy talks with Dr. Aditi Srivastav Bussells, Director of Research at Children's Trust of South Carolina, about the importance of making data accessible for all, especially those who may have no experience with it. Aditi is a public health researcher, storyteller, and strategist with a PhD in public health and 10 years of experience in both policy and non profit settings. She focuses her efforts on using research and data to create sustainable and meaningful change for communities and organizations. Currently, Aditi specializes in the areas of risk behavior prevention, health equity, health communications, and child health with Children's Trust of South Carolina. She is also running for City Council in Columbia, SC under the belief that you cannot have a healthy economy without healthy people and vice versa. She plans to bring her unique perspective to bear on solving the challenges of the city as it emerges from the pandemic. What we talked about: -Working in public health during the pandemic -Choosing public health over academia and the corporate world -The day-to-day of dealing with data in a community versus a company -Changing the story of data depending on the audience and measuring impact -Educating groups on data with Stat Chats -Advice for someone getting started in public health data -Running for city council Follow Aditi on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or visit her website: aditiforthecity.com. If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can't see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

Data literacy is the missing piece keeping most organizations from truly leveraging data to drive successful business outcomes. Luckily, we’re talking to the man who created the roadmap to data literacy. In this episode, Cassidy chats with Jordan Morrow, Head of Data, Design, and Management Skills at Pluralsight, about how to bring data literacy to your organization. Jordan’s on a mission to close the data skills gap and establish a data-centric culture by bringing data literacy to the masses. He’s passionate about delivering a human touch to a world of numbers and gets the greatest satisfaction when he can help people see and understand the power that data analytics can bring to their careers, their businesses, and their personal lives. Currently, Jordan leads Pluralsight’s data and design/management across various channels. The program is designed to help people learn and improve their data capabilities and gain an understanding of how to effectively use these skills to handle the large amounts of data found in modern organizations. What we talked about: -How COVID accelerated the digital transformation of many companies -Becoming the godfather of data literacy -Expanding educational content past data literacy to data science, data engineering, and data governance -The definition and four levels of data literacy -A five-step process for implementing data in the workflow of a business -How individuals and companies can get started with data literacy -Who should own data literacy initiatives Check out Jordan’s new book Be Data Literate: The Data Literacy Skills Everyone Needs To Succeed. Want a copy? Reach out to Cassidy on LinkedIn or at cshield@narrativescience.com. If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

Are you a runner if you spend a ton on running gear, only to run 10 miles at the end of every quarter? Probably not, right? So, why do so many companies claim to be data-driven, when they do the exact same thing with their data? We need to improve our data cultures — and we do it with storytelling. In this episode, the tables are turned as Kate Strachnyi, Founder of DATAcated, interviews our very own Nate Nichols, Chief Scientist, and Cassidy Shield, VP of Marketing at Narrative Science, about how to get a real data culture going in your organization. What we talked about: -The 3 components of data storytelling -Why stories are how our species understands insights -Why today’s technology leaves too much room for interpretation -How we create a stronger, data-driven culture -How to tell a data story to a business executive -How Lexio works and its use cases Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: Let Your People Be People Lexio Interactive Demo If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

How do you make transformation a career? By taking risks and seizing opportunities. Just ask Franklin Ortiz, Finance & Transformation Manager at Airbus, who has grabbed hold of every opportunity to propel his career forward — from joining academia to leading an employee resource group. Franklin is an innovative and dependable leader who focuses on implementing finance and project management principles to align with organizational strategic objectives. Franklin is skilled in financial controlling, inclusion & diversity, employee engagement, program and project management, business transformation, mergers & acquisitions (M&A), infrastructure project management and international government contracting. What we talked about: -Franklin’s career trajectory -Why taking risks is the only route to success -How academia can make you a more well-rounded leader -Why generalists succeed in transformation careers -The challenge and reward of leading an employee resource group -Why transparency makes a great leader If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

Most companies start off as innovative, because they invent and implement something novel and disruptive. Over time, although innovation typically continues, it gets harder to disruptively innovate, which is dangerous, because if you’re not disrupting your industry, someone else eventually will. It’s something Marcus Weldon works on day in and day out as CTO at Nokia and President of Bell Labs. He joins Cassidy in the latest episode of Leading with Data to share everything you need to know to be on the winning side of the disruptive innovation game. What we talked about: -What disruptive innovation is -Why your company should aim to disrupt -Why innovation is not just about invention but also implementation -Why a disruptive innovation needs to be 10x better than the incumbent solution -Why you should aim to spend 1% of your revenue on innovation -Why buy-in matters for innovation -How diversity of everything leads to the most disruptive innovation -The power of storytelling to shape innovation If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

Gut instinct and data-driven approaches are often seen in opposition to one another. But if you want to succeed in your business, you need to marry them. And analytics is one of the best ways to do it. In this episode, Cassidy speaks with Wendy Zajack, Faculty Director & Assistant Professor of the Practice at Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies, about how to use analytics to get the best of both worlds — data and instinct — and increase your marketing success. Wendy is a seasoned marketing professional turned educator, bringing knowledge, creativity, and strategic thinking to life in the classroom to change the marketing and communications industry for the better. She is interested in finding ways to infuse technology to enhance learning and comprehension, leveling the playing field between geographies and genders. She is currently overseeing the development and strategy behind the program curriculum, hiring and recruiting of faculty for two masters of professional studies programs at Georgetown University — Integrated Marketing Communications and the Design Management Communications program. What we talked about: -How COVID is leading to innovation -Why you need to find your customer where they live -How analytics lets you prove your gut with data -The advantages of a multi-generational marketing team -The value of viewpoint diversity -How to hire more diverse employees If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

Most business leaders want certainty — you spend X amount of dollars on marketing, you get X in profit. Often, however, the best results come not from certainty, but experimentation. Maybe we should think a little more like scientists. That’s something Talin Koutnouyan, Vice President of Research & Analytics at Influential, has learned in her career. She joins Cassidy in the latest episode to share the secrets to building a culture of experimentation. They discuss: -Why all organizations, big and small, are similar in their pursuit of growth (and mindshare) -Why experimentation is so important in business and marketing -How to cultivate an experimentation culture -The timeless business and marketing principles that don’t require testing -The 4 skills needed to lead an experimentation culture -Why you need to focus on value, not your product -How to be more intentional about your experimentation If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

This is a story about more people having access to more data. It's also a story about a man who was at the right place at the right time to spot an opportunity from the outside. He saw a handful of visionary entrepreneurs who changed the way analytics was done. Back then, it looked terrible. Today, it's his superpower. That man is Tristan Handy, and he's the founder and CEO of Fishtown Analytics. Tristan joined us on the podcast today to talk about the modern data stack, what it looks like, and how to implement it. In this episode, we discuss: -What the modern data stack is and how it replaced the old-school, less-scalable environment -Where the transform happens in the modern data stack -Why this type of change is so tough on companies If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

So many claim they’re data-driven these days, the word has lost its meaning. So, how do you go beyond the buzzword and achieve a truly data-driven approach? Even trickier: How can you take a data-driven approach before you even have the data? These are questions Jaclyn Borgiel answers every day in her role as Group Product Manager here at Narrative Science. She joins Cassidy today to share her approach to answering them, and many others that arise, in the realm of product management. Jaclyn is passionate about growing products and teams, and building their long-term strategies to reach full potential. She has had a diverse mix of experiences across B2B, B2C, high growth, and mature products, but is still an action-oriented problem solver at heart. She has worked as a product leader, analyst, product marketer, and strategic and operational expert — following challenges and purposeful missions, while building great teams. Jaclyn was drawn to Narrative Science’s mission to democratize data for all. After her training in tech at a Silicon Valley Strategy and Analytics rotational program, Narrative Science was the ideal next step on her quest to finally make data work for every business person and scale analytical teams across industries. In this episode, we discuss: -Jaclyn’s career trajectory that led to a passion for product management -What product management is and why it matters -How to make “data-driven” more than a buzzword -How to move past vanity metrics and find success metrics -How to bring a data-driven mindset from the outset, when you have no data -Why intuition comes through experience and observation -What excites Jaclyn about her work on Lexio at Narrative Science -Why data storytelling should be simple and actionable -What the future looks like for data storytelling and product management If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

Every company wants to make their products stronger and many understand how data storytelling can help them behind the scenes. But great storytelling is compelling and human. So, often, sharing those insights with your customers is one of the best ways to improve your product. And nowhere is that more true than in sports. In this episode, Brendan Morley, Senior Technical Digital Product Manager at PGA Tour, breaks down how to use data storytelling behind closed doors as well as right out in the open. Brendan is a talented and accomplished Technical Product Manager with progressive responsibility leading digital initiatives for the PGA TOUR's core group of products. As a perceptive and innovative problem solver, Brendan has developed a number of V1 products. He is able to see complex business needs and processes clearly and form solutions to intractable problems with customer-focused passion. What we talked about: -The growing popularity of golf -The products PGA Tour offer and how data storytelling improves them -The wide range of data use for PGA Tour -The difference between data and data storytelling -How data is shaping the future of the fan experience -How PGA Tour sees scale from a technology perspective If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leading with Data in your favorite podcast player.

The art of data storytelling isn’t just a nice-to-have function in your business. Effectively communicating data can mean the difference between being honest with regulators and lying to them. And it can even mean the difference between life and death. That realization is one Stephen Harris, Corporate Vice President, Global Head of Data Science & Growth Analytics at Microsoft, learned the hard way as he contemplated whether he or others working on the data at the time could have prevented the Space Shuttle Columbia crash. Data storytelling is your voice. And the right stories are how you get the outcomes you want. Stephen’s 27 years of professional experience are filled with numerous successes. He also promotes transparency in his failures and mistakes as lessons learned and toolkits to accelerate growth. He is an energetic and results-driven leader, able to navigate with precision to assimilate and influence a net positive change in any environment. His insatiable thirst to discover, build understanding, share and foster collaborative dialogue fuels his passion to identify and solve complex business issues. Stephen brings a broad and deep set of strategic and tactical approaches built from his experiences with highly competitive multinational fortune 100/500/1000 corporations, management consulting, tech and public sector. He has successfully led through local, national, and global crisis, (9/11, Space Shuttle Columbia, Katrina) including recent successes with the global COVID-19 pandemic and America’s corporate response and action plan to social injustice for the Black Community. In this episode, we discuss: -How Stephen’s personal life experience has informed and guided his professional experience -Stephen’s experience with Space Shuttle Columbia -The problems with obscure and fragmented data -Tips for aspiring data leaders -How to build a culture willing to receive change If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leading With Data in your favorite podcast player.

Technology and data are powerful tools that allow your business to see into the future. But prediction sets by themselves don’t solve business needs. They need to get into the hands of the decision makers to be actionable. That’s the number one motivator for Steve Griswold, Senior Data Scientist at US Foods, in his role as a full stack developer in a large enterprise. Steve has a stellar background in programming and an amazing ability to understand complex and robust datasets by meticulously breaking down each portion of the project and returning a highly efficient program that achieves phenomenal results. His successes include enabling a small, six-person team to review 200,000+ images in just a few weeks and automating 20 weekly tasks to allow more time for business analysis and solution enhancement. In this episode, we discuss: -Steve’s background, including how he found out he was already a data scientist -Common misconceptions leaders have when it comes to data science -The ins and outs of full stack development -How US Foods approached, and structured, its data science program -How a data scientist tests hypotheses -Why leaders need to allow their data scientists time for learning and experimentation If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leading With Data in your favorite podcast player.

Data can fundamentally transform customer experience. The flexibility and power of data opens up a wide array of possibilities for evolving delightful experiences that everyone can enjoy. In today’s episode, Cassidy is joined by JoEllen Kames, Director of Product Design at Narrative Science, to discuss her mission to redefine the way the world interacts with data. Here are a few key takeaways: -The value of human-centered design (and why it’s evolving into the more dynamic “computational design”). -How technology and design work together to create experiences. -How to design for paradigm-shifting innovation (and why Apple’s “home” button was genius). -The implicit beliefs about data and how to overcome them -What the future holds for data and design. If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Narrative Science in your favorite podcast player.

Data quality is rarely considered sexy. But when it comes to all the cool marketing stuff your company wants to do, it should be. Accurate and actionable data unlock your organization’s true marketing potential. That’s one of the key insights Darrell Alfonso, Global Marketing Operations Manager at Amazon Web Services, brings into today’s episode on how marketing data can make a real difference in your organization. Named one of the "Top Martech Marketers to Follow" 2020 by Martech Alliance, Darrell writes about marketing and how to improve your work and your life. Darrell has worked at startups, mid-sized companies, and nonprofits. He’s come to realize that it's about the people, not the platforms - but it's best to keep your eyes on both. In his current role as Global Marketing Operations Manager at Amazon (AWS), Darrell empowers hundreds of marketers to create exceptional digital experiences for their customers. What we talked about: -Working from home & the effect on inclusivity Why you need a niche, particularly a technical one -The evolution of marketing automation -The difference between marketing automation & marketing operations -Why strategy always comes before technology -Why marketers are increasingly innovating tools themselves -Data quality should be a sexier topic -How to bridge the data gap between leadership & the teams executing -The value of simplification for communicating technical information -How to craft content that resonates with your audience -Why it pays to figure out best practices for yourself Check out this resource we mentioned during the podcast: “The Practice” - Seth Godin If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Even now in the age of remote learning where technology is king, schools have the opportunity to humanize education again. Parents and teachers just have to ask the right questions and look at the right data. Over the course of his career, Keith Westman, COO at Otus and former educator, has learned a thing or two about the intersection of data, analytics, and education. He began his career as a third grade teacher. From there, he moved into a role as Director of Technology at an elementary school, and was last the principal at a middle school in Morton Grove, IL. His background in education fuels his passion for getting the right data and the right platform in the hands of teachers so that they know how and when to intervene with their students. This week, Keith joinus us on the podcast to discuss how data can make education more human and here’s what you’ll learn: - Why smaller, more frequent measurements of students’ progress are more effective than infrequent standardized tests - How having the right data and the right platform can help teachers intervene when needed - How new EdTech can be scaled to reach underserved students - What people are getting wrong with remote learning and the future of education If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

In business, growth is a good thing. But in hypergrowth, you’re growing so fast that every system and process you have breaks in record time. How do you handle that? For Tim O'Keefe, Head of Data Analytics at Canva, it all boils down to culture. With some careful consideration, you can build a culture that can’t be broken (even if everything else is). This week Tim joins our guest host, Stef Cladwell, on the show to share the challenges of heading Data Analytics at one of the fastest growing companies on the planet. What they talked about: -The challenges of hypergrowth -The transition from academia to business -Why culture reigns supreme -How to build a cohesive team (even when that team is growing exponentially) -Why trust is a superpower for getting the best work from your team If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

We’re living through the biggest data storytelling event in history. Worldwide, COVID data is impacting everyone. And it’s proof that data storytelling can be used as a force for good. In this episode, Cassidy is joined by Dan Platt, Senior Principal of Market Innovation here at Narrative Science and the founder of our Data Storytelling for Good Initiative, to discuss how data stories can be used to make the world a better place. The combination of Dan’s background in economics, PR and journalism have culminated in him becoming the unrivaled data storyteller he is today. While getting his graduate degree in journalism from Northwestern University, rather than see advancements in data technology as a threat, he was excited by the potential of harnessing that power to tell better stories and, ultimately, make the world a better place. At Narrative Science, Dan has fulfilled and surpassed these ambitions throughout the evolution of the organization, including spearheading the Data Storytelling for Good Initiative, which empowers non-profit organizations with data tools that allow them to spend more of their time improving the world. As you can see, there is a good reason Dan has the rare honor of being written into a client’s contract as their go-to guy within the company. In this episode, we discuss: -Why journalism has become a valuable degree in tech -The growing public awareness and acceptance of the power of data technology -The client who wrote Dan into their contract -Why Dan wants people to interact with data stories in tools they already use -How to communicate technical information to non-technical people -How to use data storytelling for good -How COVID proves data affects everyone’s life If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Storytelling is a trait universally shared by human beings. But does that make data storytelling innate or is it a skill we develop? This week, you’ll hear from 3 experts about how they’ve strengthened their data storytelling muscles and how putting it to practice has improved the businesses they’re a part of as well as their careers. Our guests include: Leslie Squires Gimple, Senior Manager, Reporting and Analytics at Rackspace. Having been with the company for about 13 years now, Leslie has risen through the ranks at Rackspace, where she is currently leading the software developers, BI developers, as well as visual analysts. Kimberly Herrington, Data Journalist and Creator of #BuffaloBusinessIntelligence. Kimberly has a wealth of experience getting hands-on with data in the health world, and is excited to find stories in numbers. She stays on top of health analytics trends to create clever data stories and content that bring value to the organization. Sunita Menon, Global Data Executive, Freelance. Sunita is a global executive who has transformed the business using data-driven strategies to achieve productivity, cost savings and revenue growth, while building data-driven organizations, governance and mindsets. This insightful conversation comes from our event, Humanalytics, where we talked about: -What data storytelling means -Whether data storytelling is a skill, talent or business function -How data storytelling drives decisions, insights and actions -The democratization of data and data storytelling -Using data storytelling to build relationships -The difference between data storytelling and data literacy -Data’s role in transparency and diversity and inclusion Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: Charty Party If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Data strategy in healthcare often feels like it’s stuck in the 1990s. Trying to gather insight is like wandering hopefully along the aisles at Blockbuster rather than using a service as seamless as Netflix. During the global pandemic, some healthcare leaders were even walking hospital floors with clipboards counting COVID patients in beds. Why? Lack of trust in the data and reports created for them. The internal and external motivations for healthcare to take data more seriously have only been accelerated by the impact of COVID-19. As a data leader who started his role as Executive Director of Informatics & Analytics at MemorialCare during the pandemic, Jared Nunes knows a thing or two about building a data strategy that grants trust in healthcare. After gaining clinical experience working in the health system and running his own construction business, Jared joined a healthcare data recording company where he taught himself the technology to shift the company fully online. Over the course of his career, he learned to be nimble — to stay off the bleeding edge but on the cutting edge, as he puts it. In this week’s episode, Jared shares insights from his three decades of work experience in a fun and fantastic conversation about: -Advice for healthcare leaders to learn from other industries -How to build trust in data at your organization and why it’s important -The 4 pillars needed before we can leverage advanced analytics and data science -The strategic initiative of leadership vision (and the 7 goals of MemorialCare) -Demonstrating a vision of what’s possible in healthcare data Hear more and subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

When you arrive somewhere new and you are tasked with overhauling complex and problematic legacy data systems, where do you begin? Well, before you even start to build your strategy, you need to know the business goals you are trying to achieve, have executive support, and understand why past efforts to achieve these goals have failed. This approach is how Robert Emerson, former VP and Head of Strategic Data Management at Blue Cross NC and current program strategist for OptumLabs, has consistently led teams to tackle some of the toughest data challenges in Healthcare, a complex industry with a dire need for modernization in its data and analytics. As a perceptive, creative, and logical data leader, data scientist, and advanced analytics strategist, Robert prides himself on his ability to effectively communicate with technical and non-technical colleagues alike. Robert earned a PhD in neuroscience, but moved into the healthcare industry shortly thereafter, where he served in a variety of different data and analytics leadership roles. He has led teams to develop, optimize, and automate operations staffing models, and developed strategic data maturity plans. These plans include creating comprehensive cloud migration initiatives, developing dashboards to deliver business insights, harnessing predictive models for proactive decision-making, and integrating machine learning to forecast operations supply and demand. In his current role at OptumLabs, he is helping lead strategic programs around data, analytics, and technology. What we talked about: -The data challenges present in healthcare -Considerations when modernizing complex legacy systems -How business strategy should guide data strategy -The importance of the cloud for modern data and analytics (and the challenges migration present) -How to master your data from the beginning and get it right the first time -The role regulations and privacy concerns play in modernizing data systems -The attributes to look for when hiring for your teams -The important role diversity of thought plays in any team -Why data leaders need to stop underestimating the need for change management If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Unfortunately, not everybody thinks like a data scientist. Your leadership team doesn’t care about your fancy tech or the cool way you found the answers, they just care about the answers they need to move the business forward. That’s why when you tell them a data story, you need to make sure you’re speaking their language. That’s just one of the insights that helped today’s guest, Alexander Soria, Vice President of Data & Analytics at Mindbody, move up the ladder in his analytics career. Before joining Mindbody, Alex focused on strategic analysis to help decision-making for future projects, programs, promotions, and executive decisions when working with companies including Zappos, Vancouver Analytics Group, and Elicit. At Mindbody, he has moved into a strategic data-position where his focus shifted from being solely centered on data science to also include data engineers, business intelligence, business analysts, and data governance. This holistic approach has given him a deep appreciation and understanding of the entire data pipeline. What we talked about: -Why data teams should be Switzerland in any organization and remain neutral -How to get executive buy-in (and funding) for large data projects -How to get the right people in the right positions -Why diversity of thought is essential for a thriving team -The qualities that make a great analytics leader -Why data storytelling requires a learn-by-doing approach -What a future where data is heavily regulated means for data leaders If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

When you use data to tell a story, you’re engaging in something fundamentally human. Narrative, meaning, communication — stories are what separate us from the other animals. And as data leaders, we need to always put the human front-and-center in our approach. That’s one of the many pieces of sage wisdom Guy Levy-Yurista, Chief Strategy Officer at Sisense, shared in the latest episode of Leading with Data. And Guy should know — he might just be the most interesting man in the world. He’s an executive leader and product and technology expert with over 25 years of experience in Fortune 500 startups and venture capital environments. He's been successful in developing and driving strategies to launch and strengthen product portfolios, increase revenue and profit, and improve competitive market positioning. Guy’s led 2 startups through liquidity events within 4 years. He has in-depth knowledge of emerging technologies and enterprise B2B, mobile communications and cybersecurity. And, of course, he is currently Chief Strategy Officer at one of the world's most innovative and fastest growing companies, Sisense, which is currently valued at over a billion dollars. What we talked about: -Putting the human at the center of technology -How a good leader earns their teams’ loyalty -The 3 elements necessary for analytics -The revolutions in AI, machine learning, and quantum computing shaping the future of analytics -How data storytelling taps into the core of what it means to be human If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

As a CDO, showing leadership the impact your work has on the business is critical. Data-driven business outcomes are essential to the future of your role, as well as the future of the company. So, it’s best to demonstrate your effectiveness right off the bat. To do that, though, takes a few insights. In this episode, Shwetank Kumar — CDO at Freedom Financial Network and Founder of Bayesian — shares expert tips for data leaders demonstrating their impact on businesses. Plus, we talk about… - Best hiring practices for a data team - How Shwetank’s academic past informs his role in business - The challenges of experimentation at companies with a lot of red tape - The future of AI and open source technologies If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Data alone can’t do anything. It’s up to you to ask questions, make judgements, and have a human approach to make creative, data-informed decisions. Elissa Fink, Former CMO of Tableau, joins Leading with Data on this episode to break down data-informed decision making and help listeners understand how to grow this powerful skill. In this episode, we discuss: -How to make data more human and accessible -Translating data into creative decision making -Changing behaviors and habits around data -How she used data-informed decisions to grow Tableau from millions to billions in revenue For more information, check out Leading with Data or connect with us on LinkedIn. To hear more interviews like this one, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

As AI & machine learning software continues to get smarter, the field of personalized recommendations is only going to continue to grow. But just how far will it go? If you think of a nine-inning baseball game, we’re likely somewhere in the third inning, meaning there is still a lot of game left to play. So what advancements are coming, and how do we navigate the world of data? In this episode of Leading With Data, Michael Schrage, Research Fellow at the MIT Sloan School of Management, talks all about the future of recommendation, as well as his new book, Recommendation Engines. In addition to his role at MIT, Michael is also a visiting fellow at the Imperial College Business School of Innovation & Leadership, as well as an author of multiple books, including his most recent publication, Recommendation Engines. In this episode, we discuss: -The motivation behind Michael’s latest book, Recommendation Engines -The future of data aggregation and why we’re just getting started with advanced recommendation analytics -The Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), and why that is more important than any sale you can make in the short term -What causes most businesses to fail when it comes to digital transformation If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

It’s no secret that traditional media outlets are undergoing an evolution. And with advertising revenue streams shifting from print to digital… With no shortage of opportunities to spend digital ad dollars, advertisers need access to performance data otherwise they may go somewhere else. That’s one of the reasons why behind every news story, there’s a data story. In this episode of Leading With Data, Stephen Weis, Executive Vice President of Digital Revenue and Talent Development at the Houston Chronicle, shares the many ways their team uses data storytelling to drive revenue in a shifting media landscape. Stephen is a Digital Media executive with 20 years of experience leading digital content, marketing, and sales teams. He’s had significant leadership roles with several media organizations spearheading the digital transformation of traditional media organizations. In this episode, we discuss: -Why traditional media relies on data more than ever to generate revenue -The role data plays in communicating the value of digital advertising, especially to smaller partners -How to create consistency in data storytelling across a large organization -Why the most valuable technologies are the ones that save you time If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Is your marketing team data-driven? They have data. They have the software. Yet, most marketing teams tend to focus on vanity metrics. Vanity metrics are more about justification than truth. It’s our job as data leaders to empower them with the metrics that matter. That’s just one of the many insights Kam Lee, drawing upon a wealth of experience as Chief Marketing Data Scientist at Finetooth Analytics, shares in the latest Leading With Data Podcast. Over the course of his 14-year career, Kam Lee has built scalable systems that synthesized complex data into actionable, highly-personalized customer journeys. By employing marketing intelligence, he powers optimization at scale to discover the best-case scenarios that lead to winning sales opportunities. In this episode, Kam explains: -The role of a Chief Marketing Data Scientist -The difference between your ideal customer and your actual buyer based on data -Customer segmentation informed my machine learning (ML) -The problem with vanity metrics If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

You may think you need to be an analyst to tell a great story through data. But, the truth is: Everyone can author a compelling data story. As data leaders, it’s our job to empower our stakeholders to do so. And that’s exactly what Maggie Remynse, Assistant Vice President - Enterprise Data Consultant II at M&T Bank, does by training her whole organization in the basics of data storytelling. In this episode, Maggie walks us through: - The benefits of being a “data translator” - The key distinction between a report and analytics - How M&T Bank is gamifying data storytelling through training Maggie Remysnse brings the same drive that helped her become a world-renowned pickleball player to her work as a “data person”. She is passionate about bringing companies to their next phase with the newest emerging technologies. In her current role at M&T Bank, she has been a part of many different projects that all have one thing in common: bring people together with data. Fun fact: She is currently ranked top 15 in the world by pickleball global. Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: Pickleball Instagram Find Maggie on LinkedIn If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here .

If you want to create a data-informed culture at your company, you need 3 things: (1) Diversity of thought and a diverse team. (2) Democratized knowledge of the data and how to act on it. (3) And everyone aligned to a stake in the outcome. That’s what Juan Riojas has learned in his career and in his current role as CDO at Rackspace. As Chief Data Officer at Rackspace, Juan is responsible for enterprise-wide data strategy, management, and analytics to meet the need of the business through time to insight. Prior to Rackspace, Juan worked for Informatica building their inaugural Data Office and has held various executive leadership roles at Gogo, Dell, and Accenture. This week he joins Cassidy to discuss: - How building a diverse team led to a stronger data culture at Rackspace and the framework behind how you can do the same thing - Why everyone knowing the data is the only way to compete on customer experience - Why everyone needs a stake in the outcome If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

The bigger the business, the bigger the data challenges. In order to be the top data consultant at an international healthcare enterprise, it helps to take a tool agnostic approach. That’s what Nandu Patil, Sr. Analytics Consultant at CVS Health, does. Nandu joins us on the show today to discuss… What being tool agnostic means and the reasons for doing so How to adapt insights to appeal to a wide variety of stakeholders Insight delivery models and mediums How to know if your insights are being understood by stakeholders Resources mentioned in this episode: Transformation Nation podcast Michael Brito, Zeno Group If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Being interviewed by your boss on a podcast?! That’s exactly what happened when Brent Silberman, Revenue Operations Manager at Narrative Science, joined Cassidy on this week’s episode of Leading with Data. Also known as the “Data Poet”, learn from Brent’s experience as a one-man data team presenting analytics to everyone across our organization - from the go-to-market and product teams all the way up to our executive leadership. We discuss: What is Revenue Operations & why it matters How to share insights that your stakeholders they actually use The future of analytics and what it will look like If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

How can data inform rapid growth? Last week, Cassidy sat down to talk about this exact topic with Jeremy von Halle and Jessica Watts, co founders of Mud City, a sales and operations agency. Prior to starting Mud City, they worked together as go-to-market VPs at a fast-growing company called Jellyvision. And like Cassidy mentioned in their episode intro, due to their time at Jellyvision and it's impressive growth trajectory they're considered "celebrities" here in Chicago. If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

It’s good to know what happened, it’s better to know what will happen. But in a year like this year, historical data means nothing. The current pandemic is unprecedented and has thrown a wrench in forecasting models all over the world (ours included) Revenue Operations leader at Jellyvision, Zack Blois, joined us on this week’s episode to talk about the problem with relying too heavily on historicals. We discuss: Why you can’t always rely on historicals When it’s okay to make a data-driven pivot Tips for Revenue teams during transformative times If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Implementing new technology can be stressful for everyone involved. And knowing how to deploy new technology successfully is largely dependent on change management (especially in analytics). So, how do you successfully deploy innovative tech and make a positive impact? In this episode, guest hosts Stef Caldwell and Ryan Kurt are joined by Avi Deshpande, Head of Architecture & Data Analytics, AI and ML at Logitech. Avi draws on his own experience and shares his tips to find the right business partners and use cases to successfully implement new technology like machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and natural language processing (NLP). If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Colleges faking data to improve rankings. A sales manager manipulates the numbers so they “look good”. Applications on your phone using your user data to alter behavior and sell advertisements. These are just a few examples of the ethical dilemmas that can arise when collecting, analyzing, and distributing data. This week we’re joined by Lexy Kassan from The Data Science Ethics Podcast. We discuss: What is data ethics, its role in data storytelling, & why it’s important The implications of collecting, managing, and distributing data The role of ethical considerations when training AI algorithms. Links from this episode: http://datascienceethics.com/category/podcast/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexykassan If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Every story has characters. In an effective data story, they are the business priorities -- relationships, markets, brands, offerings, etc. This week we spoke with the Data Whisperer, Scott Taylor, about data management and improving your data story by finding the right characters. You’ll learn: The golden rule of data; what you put in is what you get out of it. Why data management should be baked in as structural for any company The 3 V’s of telling a data story Here are the links mentioned from the show: Webinar: Telling Your Data Story with the 3Vs: Vocabulary, Voice & Vision https://narrativescience.com/resource/webinar/telling-your-data-story-with-the-3vs-vocabulary-voice-vision/ Find Scott on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottmztaylor/ Find Scott on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQ1YhjNqc77GVsb3Xs4tvw If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

In 1952, automation was poised to wipe out the most common jobs. And in 70 years, it managed to get rid of only one. Why? Because there is a difference between a task and a job. That’s one of the many insights Nate Nichols has learned as Chief Scientist at Narrative Science. Nate came on the show today to discuss: How AI will change the future of work The difference between a task and a job Why intelligence is the combination of knowledge and judgment Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: towardsdatascience.com If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

The modern world is built on experimentation. It drives everything that makes the world modern. So why is it so uncommon to see the word in a job title? Well, as you can see, today’s guest Eric Weber, GP of Experimentation and Metrics Research at Yelp, is the exception. In this episode, he explains: The value of experimentation How to present data effectively The problem with group decisions If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

What do you do when the job you want doesn’t exist? You don’t just wait for your boss to read your mind. You make it yourself. That’s how Kimberly Herrington, Data Journalist at BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York, landed her dream job. Now, she gets paid to tell the compelling stories she finds in numbers. She joins us on the show today to go over a wide range of topics from the world of data journalism. We discuss: How to craft your dream job and put it into the world How to tell stories with data that don’t put others to sleep What skills you need for a career in data journalism Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: Cat Food Gif -- https://tenor.com/view/feeding-cat-too-much-many-cat-food-gif-17548521 Find Kimberly on LinkedIn -- https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlyherrington/ If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Why don’t movies start with the ending and then give you the details that led up to it in reverse order of importance? Well, mainly because Hollywood wants money — which they can’t make with terrible stories. So why do we present data this way? Every human craves a great story. And if you can get insight from the data, you can tell a story. That’s what Brent Dykes, Senior Director of Insights & Data Storytelling at Blast Analytics and Author of Effective Data Storytelling, believes. In this episode, I catch up with Brent to discuss: Why emotion is such a big part of decision making How to turn insights into stories How to cultivate a community of data storytelling in your organization If you want to hear more, subscribe to Leading with Data on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Welcome to Leading with Data, a podcast by Narrative Science! If you’d like to learn more about Narrative Science, or have a topic or guest suggestion, feel free to contact us at cassidy@narrativescience.com You can find this conversation, and many more, by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, Google, Spotify, or Stitcher.